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Strongly disagree, software engineering is nothing like factory work, or rather, companies who view it as such and only have "predictable, maintainable error fr
by kthejoker2 6y ago
Strongly disagree, software engineering is nothing like factory work, or rather, companies who view it as such and only have "predictable, maintainable error free software" as their objective will have their lunch eaten by disruptive companies who understand software is a creative tool to deliver value and should be treated as such.
You should read
https://iism.org/article/why-are-ceos-failing-software-engineers-56 https://iism.org/article/why-are-ceos-failing-software-engin...
> Applying replication management techniques to creative work is a systemic mistake that actually disadvantages companies that are developing software – this is because the skills, workflows and founding principles for discovering new value are almost entirely different from those needed to efficiently replicate value.
> It should be clear that not having an effective creative management system is a huge gap in the value fulfillment cycle. If this gap remains unaddressed, the market will solve the problem by investors, over time, moving their money to entities that are discovering new value at higher rates. So, if you have this kind of systemic void, it’s really in your best interest to address the gap as soon as possible, and I would encourage you to give some serious consideration to empowering an effective creative management system.
- aeternum 6y agoHow are you going to sell unpredictable software to a customer, and if you do manage that, how are you going to keep that customer without maintainable software?
- kthejoker2 6y agoAsk Facebook? "Move fast and break things" is in a literal sense orthogonal to predictable, maintainable software. If you are adding value and focusing on your customer's needs, they will put up with a little more unpredictability and extra maintenance. Again, you should really read that article, it says it better than I can summarize in an HN comment. Part of its definition of value is that you're addressing unmet need at a rate higher than you are introducing chaos. So the levels of predictability and maintenance in your software are tradeoffs of other ways to add value (insert "always has been" meme here). They are neither necessary nor sufficient for delivering value.
- aeternum 6y agoFacebook changed that in 2014 because it didn't work.
- patmorgan23 6y agoThey didn't say anything about unpredictable software. There are things you can do to systemize the software development process but if you go too far you reduce the ability of your programmers to find the optimal solutions. Creating and managing complex systems is an art.
- brabel 6y agoYou strongly disagree based on feelings and conjecture? As engineers, we should know to only use strong words one way or another when overwhelming evidence supports our claims, which is clearly not the case here.
- kthejoker2 6y agoSorry, where did my feelings come into play here? I cited an article with a fairly persuasive argument around the value fulfillment cycle of creative work such as software engineering and quoted a bit from it.